What to Do When Self-Hypnosis Won’t Work

What if self-hypnosis just doesn’t work for you? Sometimes, our own preconceived notions get in the way of our best intentions. Like, “What if I’m just too uptight to relax?” If you can get lost by gazing into the flames in the fireplace or listening to the pounding surf, then chances are good that you can be hypnotized.

Some people find that the effort to focus on settling down actually turns up the volume on that internal chatterbox. You know that tape that runs on and on in your head as soon as you hit the pillow? “Well, she said that you said that they said …” Your ability to relax and unwind at the end of a hectic day may be temporarily “out of order” due to the fatigue of stress as well as the residual effects of sleep deprivation.

There are also times when the emotional baggage attached to an issue is too overwhelming to ignore, such as in the case of fears and phobias. Perhaps you haven’t been sleeping soundly for the last several weeks because you were having nightmares and you dread repeating those bad dreams. In that case, insomnia may actually be a coping mechanism and it might be a better idea to seek counseling to eradicate the source of those nightmares before attempting to use self-hypnosis.

Loss of sleep is not the only symptom of stress. Compulsive overeating and anorexia/bulimia can be signs of the need for self-nurturing. When food becomes a source of love, comfort or just our best friend, that’s when self-hypnosis for weight control may seem practically impossible. Have you ever tried to talk yourself out of eating that last stale donut in the box in the break room? Yeah, that’s the one that you carefully avoided when they were all fresh at 10:00 a.m. and yet now your conscious-waking mind is front and center with all kinds of rationalizations to eat the donut now. “Go on, eat it now. You had to work through lunch and you won’t get supper until almost 9:00 tonight.”

“Why can’t I get it right?” you might be thinking by now.

If circumstances are preventing you from using self-hypnosis for your issues, you are not out on a limb without a net.

Now there is an alternative way to keep the value of hypnosis without the guilt of feeling like a failure at relaxation. There is no need to schedule time off from work or school, much less take on the hassles of travel.

I call it “Skypnosis,” or hypnosis via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), such as Skype.
VoIP is an amazing 21st century tool, is often free of charge to another computer using Skype software using computer-to-computer connections. (There might be a service fee required for calls to a landline or mobile phone.)

Skypnosis offers someone in another city, state or country, the ability to receive customized hypnosis in the privacy and safety of your own home for a reasonable fee.

One of the reasons that hypnosis via VoIP works is that, just like traditional in-office hypnosis, you are expected to make the same kind of commitment to be a cooperative part of the therapy. In fact, for many people, the ability to better control their environment, during the hypnotherapy, can often enhance the effectiveness of the hypnosis. A key factor in someone achieving a state of heightened awareness, commonly called a trance state, using hypnosis, is the willingness of the client to adopt an active role in his or her self-help program.

You will need to make a quiet, safe, private place for the Skypnosis session and of course, during hypnosis, you cannot be in your car as either driver or passenger. You cannot use alcohol or recreational drugs. This is not the time for candlelight and a bubble bath either.

In the United States, most health insurance plans do not cover hypnotherapy. As an alternative or complementary healing therapy, much like acupuncture, massage therapy or energy work, most hypnosis requires a personal investment from the client. If, in addition to the fee for the hypnotherapy itself, there is an additional travel charge and perhaps time off from work, the effectiveness of the hypnotherapy is already starting with a possible negative balance.

Enter the concept of making an office visit via your own computer, in the safety of your own home, outside of regular business hours. While the actual encryption codes used on Skype calls remains secret, most techies will agree that VoIP calls are as “safe” as any other computer-based call system.

In fact, the Skype system was developed specifically to provide a forum, originally called “sky peer-to-peer,” using a background processing system with installed Skype software on a particular computer, instead of a client-server system.

In other words, if someone wanted to get over having a panic attack on Sundays at sundown, when the reality of Monday morning at work hits them, that client needs to, first of all, be willing to make the effort to open their mind to the possibility of feeling more relaxed when thinking about their job. For this reason, the research to find a hypnotherapist actually becomes part of the healing process.

Some key factors to consider before selecting your hypnotherapist are:
• education
• experience
• referrals
• personal rapport

So if you feel like self-hypnosis isn’t working for you, you might consider approaching self-hypnosis via Skype. It’s just one more option that might make a huge difference in your life.

“This is a temporary demo article. Will be deleted soon.
Author: Valorie J. Wells“